Abby is a bridesmaid and the florist for her cousin Jillian’s wedding.  Jillian has a history of engagements where she dumped the guy before getting to the altar.  Now she is engaged to Abby’s ex-fiancé’s brother, Claymore.  Pryce, Abby’s ex, is a groomsman.  Jillian wants Claymore to bump the current best man down to groomsman and promote Pryce to best man.  Claymore tells Jillian no, which is a rare occurrence.  Jillian asks Abby to speak to Pryce to get him to speak to Claymore.  Abby gets Pryce to talk to Claymore by pointing out that if the wedding is called off Jillian will keep the 3-carat diamond ring.

Sounds like junior high, doesn’t it? All it needed was for a bridesmaid to have one of the other girls ask the boy she likes if he likes her too.

When one of the groomsman disappears and the best man dies, Jillian begs Abby to find out the identity of the murderer.  Claymore won’t get married until the murderer is found, which Jillian finds hard to understand.  After all, if the two of them are ok, why shouldn’t they go ahead with the wedding?  Jillian is the stereotypical spoiled rich girl.  Everything is about “me, me, me.”  When the best- man dies, Jillian’s reaction is “at least it solves the best-man situation.”

Abby agrees to solve the murder 1.) because Jillian is her cousin, 2.) because she doesn’t want to lose money on flowers if the wedding is called off, and 3.) because she is nosy and meddling.  (If readers don’t accept Abby as meddler at first, they will after the tenth time it is stated in the book.)  Abby enlists investigative advice from Marco, an ex-cop turned private eye/bar owner next door.

In addition to the murder, there is a second mystery.  Across the street from Bloomers is a nail salon and a massage parlor.  The massage parlor is a fishy business.  The windows are covered with paper and it’s open 24/7.  The only sign for the store is a piece of paper that says “Massages” with a phone number.  The only customers ever served at the store are men.  It’s obvious what’s going on in the “massage parlor.”  Abby can’t resist setting out to prove it when the cops won’t look into it.

Some things in Abby's life didn't make sense.  Hopefully, they were set up on the first book.  For example, there is Abby's financial situation.  Abby gets a manicure at the nail salon hoping to get information from the nail technician.  She opts for clear nails since she can't afford a full manicure.  The bank owns most of the flower shop.  Abby owns "mainly just a window and part of the front door."  Yet Abby owns a 1960 Corvette convertible.  How does she afford a hot classic expensive vehicle, when she can't afford a manicure?

Then there is Abby and Marco’s relationship.  It takes the most of the book to figure out what they are to each other.  Marco's supposed to be the new guy in Abby’s life, but he is not her boyfriend.  Abby dates other guys.  She spends more time complaining about her ex-fiancé than she spends dreaming of Marco.  In the end, I decided that Abby and Marco are kind of, sort of, dating.  There wasn’t any evidence of any passion between them in Slay It With Flowers.

In addition to my confusion over Abby, most of the characters are unlikable.  The entire bridal party (except for Abby) is from privileged families.  The guys had silly, cutesy nicknames like Flip and Punch.  They all thought they were special and above suspicion just because they are rich.  The bride and bridesmaids spent most of their time shopping.  It’s really difficult to sympathize with characters who think the world revolves around them.

If you enjoyed the first book and plan to read the third (in the works), then you’ll want to read Slay It With Flowers for continuity.  Otherwise I suggest shopping at a flower store rather than reading about this one.

--Terry Lawrence